


Distant Apple

by WindMeister8



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family, Family Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4440335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindMeister8/pseuds/WindMeister8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cierra Knightly has been dating Levi for a while but recently realized there's much to his family than she initially thought. Feeling uncomfortable with the fact that Levi's been keeping his family issues a secret from her, she's unsure whether she can take the next leap of faith. Will Levi be able to win her over despite his troubled family background?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distant Apple

**Author's Note:**

> **(AU Note: For maximum effect, listen to[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy5xcuB6_1Y))**

The high-pitched ring of a bell resonated through the little café, alerting the waiter to a new customer. A young brunette woman with light brown eyes, wearing a long-flowing skirt that fell at her knees and a white sleeveless top stood at the entrance, surveying the café. The waiter put on his typical smile that he used to greet his customers and called out to the new customer, “Welcome! How may I help you?”

The woman strode to the counter and glanced at the menu laid out in front of her. It only took her a split second to decide on what she wanted and she looked back up at the beaming waiter. 

“A latte please. No cream,” she said curtly. 

“Alright! One latte coming up,” the waiter replied, gesturing to his colleague who set about fixing the customer’s order.

“That would be $4.50 please.”

Nodding, the woman dug into her purse and handed over the exact amount of money. 

“Thank you! We’ll bring you the latte once it’s done.” The waiter received the wad of cash with both hands and slid it into the cash register. As he watched the woman walk to the back of the café, he let out a small sigh, wondering why some people could be so unfriendly and off-putting. She didn’t even smile, let alone make small talk. Her face seemed to be perpetually fixed into a scowl – her eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes held an intense glare, and the slight downturn of her lips completed the picture of an extremely pissed-off lady that you should not mess with.

Another ring of the bell informed the waiter of more customers.  
“Welc-“

“CICI, THERE YOU ARE!” A loud voice interrupted his greeting and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of a disheveled woman in dirty blue jeans and a red t-shirt with too many stains to count. Her eyes were gleaming manically and her hair tousled, resembling a mad scientist that had gone through a failed experiment. She grinned at the waiter and slammed her hands on the counter, startling him. 

“A mocha, please! Mike over here will pay,” she gestured to the man who had trailed behind her. 

The waiter smiled nervously and nodded, but the loud woman was already sauntering towards the back of the café. The blonde man called Mike walked up to the counter. He was wearing a long-sleeved Henley tee matched with black jeans, and sported a dark moustache and beard.

“I’ll just have water. How much would that be?” he asked.  
“That would be $5.25 please,” the waiter replied.

Mike counted the bills and before handing over the money, lifted it upwards at eye-level and sniffed it. The waiter raised his eyebrows, perplexed at the odd and somewhat disgusting action. Smirking a little, Mike finally parted with the money and walked over to where the other woman had gone to. The waiter relayed the order to his colleague and promptly went back to his work, polishing glasses and cups, while he sneaked a look over at the odd trio.

_A mafia boss, a mad scientist, and a weirdo. Yup, they must be in the acting line._

 

Meanwhile, at the booth in the back of the café, the two women were seated opposite each other and the blonde man Mike took his place beside the woman who had arrived earlier.

“How many times have I told you not to call me Cici, Hanji?”

Hanji, the loud woman, merely laughed. “Cici sounds much better than Cierra. Or do you want me to call you Captain Knightley like all your subordinates?”

Cierra broke into a smile at the way her friend emphasized her rank. Hanji always had the knack of turning anything serious into something fun and humorous. Not that Hanji didn’t know when to not take things lightly. She took her job as a coroner very seriously and was deeply respected by all their colleagues at the police department. 

“Now there’s that smile I’ve been waiting for!” Hanji clapped her hands together. “That expression of yours frightens too many people away. Not to mention how strict you are with newcomers and your subordinates.”

Cierra let out a deep sigh. “What can I do? That’s my normal expression. I can’t really change it. And you know I’m uncomfortable around new people.”

“Besides..” She looked at her two friends. “How did you find me here?”

Hanji waved off the question as if it were obvious. “Where else could you be? Anyway, Mike here smelled your scent.”

Cierra turned to Mike who smirked in pride. “Wow, I’m seriously considering submitting a petition to release all sniffer dogs and just replace them with Mike,” she said, slapping him on his shoulder in good camaraderie.

Mike snorted whereas Hanji burst out in a giggle fit, thumping the table with her palm. Cierra joined in the laughter, relishing in the fun that she hadn’t had for a while.

“Anyway,” Cierra continued, “What does a loud-ass parrot and a giant-shit dog want with me?”

Reaching over, Hanji ruffled Cierra’s hair despite her protests. “You give us such horrible nicknames and yet you complain about the pretty one I give you, huh?”

As Cierra tried to put her hair back in order, Mike spoke for the first time. “Is something wrong between you and Levi?”

Cierra stopped in mid-action, her hand still stuck in her slightly messy hair. Her two friends were now silent, looking at her with a serious expression. She knew they weren’t being nosy – just worried for her well-being but she didn’t know where to start. With a small sigh, her hands fell from her tangled hair and she leaned back, her arms folded across her chest.

She had met Levi on a sting operation to round up all the drug dealers and when she had tried to handcuff him, thinking that he, as the bartender, was involved, he had put up such a good fight leaving her impressed at his hand-to-hand combat skills. Still, they were always at each other’s throats but due to Erwin’s idea to use him as an informant, she had to be in close contact with him for a period of time. Of course, that’s where the romance started to blossom. The two of them had much in common, both physically in terms of their facial expression and mentally in terms of how they approached problems. She had even begun to think about plans for the future – in one simple word, marriage.

However, it was only recently that she started to find out more about Levi’s family and the issues surrounding them. Levi was one of three siblings and he was the middle child. She would think that he had lesser responsibility of taking care of his parents but as it turned out, he was the only child who gave a substantial allowance to his sick and retired parents. That was fine with her, she loved the fact that he still cared for them – filial piety being in high regard in her books. She herself came from a loving family consisting of 4 siblings including herself, and all of them took care of their parents in equal shares. 

But it was last week when she found out how much more complicated Levi’s family actually was. They had just had dinner with her family and it was incredible how fast Levi had clicked with her three brothers and parents. All her brothers were always overprotective of her and loved to cross-examine her love interests. But with Levi, he had taken all their questions in stride and eventually, they were laughing and teasing each other like old buddies. 

After the dinner, the two of them were light-heartedly talking about how many children they wanted. She had wanted at least two but it came to her as a shock when he adamantly said one was enough. When she pressed him for his reasons, he had only said stoically that it was from his personal experience. Their meeting had ended on an awkward note and after that, work had kept them busy or in her case, it gave her an excuse to think deeply about the issue.

“I don’t know,” she breathed out, her eyes furrowing in thought. “It’s just… I found out recently that Levi has some family issues. Do you guys know anything about it?”

Mike shook his head but Hanji bit her lip before replying, “I normally don’t talk about people’s personal issues but I think you have a right to know.”

Cierra leaned forward, her interest piqued by whatever Hanji might have to say. Seeing her colleague’s anticipation, Hanji waved her hands in front of her, trying to lower Cierra’s expectations. “It’s not like I know much. It’s just that… Levi isn’t exactly close with his parents. They don’t really.. bond, I guess?”

Frowning, Cierra slumped back in her seat, disappointed by the lack of details. But it did give her something to chew on. Family background was very important to her, seeing as how it molded a person’s character and also affected how they viewed parenthood. She loved Levi with all her heart but marriage entails more than just love. For them to walk down the same path together, they would need to accept everything about each other, to embrace the past and brave through the obstacles of the present. The fact that she had no clue as to his relationship with his parents deeply hurt her. He had not told her about it, and that implied a lack of trust. 

She fixed her glare at the wooden table in front of her, hiding the fact that her emotions were in turmoil. Anger, disappointment, misery, and anxiety were all wrapped up together, fighting each other for dominance as they threatened to overwhelm her. All she wanted was for the two of them to live happily together, isolated from the world and its troubles. But that was a fantasy. 

“Cici? Are you ok?” Hanji asked worriedly, studying Cierra through her dirty glasses.

“I’m fi-“ Before she could complete her sentence, Cierra was interrupted by the high-pitched chime of the bell. 

She gave a sideways glance at the café entrance out of perpetual habit as someone in the police force. Her eyes widened as she saw a raven-haired man stalk in, ignore the waiter’s friendly greeting, and head their way, his gaze fixed on her. Just like her, his expression was set in an unfriendly glare that could send any normal person cowering in fear. As he neared them, she tried to act normally as if they hadn’t been talking about him just a minute ago. 

Smiling at him, she said, “Hey, Levi. What – “

In a split second, he had gripped her wrist in a vice-like manner and pulled her up and out of her seat. Hanji stared with her mouth open whereas Mike watched silently, his eyes widening a fraction. As he dragged her towards the entrance, she protested loudly but he only ignored her cries. The waiter threw her a confused smile before she was suddenly bathed in sunlight as she stepped out the door.

Levi released his tight grip and walked over to the driver’s door of his car that was parked just in front of the café. Glaring at him, Cierra stood her ground, tapping her feet on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest while Levi got into his car. He started the engine, turned to her, and called out, “Oi, brat. You don’t want to be late on the first meeting with my parents, do you?”

Cierra’s glare turned into a look of disbelief, her eyes widening in surprise. She quickly hopped into the passenger seat and snapped at Levi, “Fine. Now get on with it.”

A tiny smirk crossed his features and he set the car into motion. Speeding down the roads, Cierra glanced at him, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. With Levi, there was no point in asking why he suddenly decided to bring her to see his parents. He would either shrug noncommittally or mutter a simple “Tch.” But now that she was actually on her way to see his family, anxiety coursed through her. Would they accept her with open arms? 

“Shit!” she cursed suddenly, remembering that she needed to make a good first impression. “Levi, I need to get them a gift first. Let’s go to the shoppin-“

“There’s no time and no need to do that, Cierra.”

“Levi, it’s my first time meeting them. It’s proper manners to give the host a gift,” she reasoned.

“No,” came his curt reply.

Cierra glowered at him, unable to understand why he was being so stubborn about the matter.

“Just trust me, Cierra,” he said, gentler this time as he reached out and squeezed her hand.

Her expression softened and she studied him closely, a little worried by his change of tone. Levi wasn’t one to show his affection in words or in overt actions. He was a hard man to read but when it came to affairs of the heart, he would do anything for the people that he cared about. She understood him, because she used to be the same way. It was only later that she started using more words to express herself but it was still a hard thing to do.

She kept quiet, squeezing his hand tightly and running her thumb lightly in circles around the back of his hand. The flicker of apprehension that she saw in his eyes just minutes ago, now diminished by her ministrations. They continued the journey in silence until fifteen minutes later, they arrived in front of a small, plain, house with an overgrown lawn that was taken over by weeds. As she got out of the car, she noted how _cold_ the house felt, not cozy or warm or inviting… but cold. It wasn’t in a horrid condition but neither was it well-kept either. The walls were white and peeling, desperately in need of repainting. The windows were long and had bars on them, almost like a prison. Cierra suppressed the shivers that ran through her body and turned to Levi, smiling. 

“So, this is where you grew up, huh?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Levi looked at the house that contained more than a decade of memories for him with an impassive face. Taking in a deep breath, he said, “Let’s go in.”

They walked hand-in-hand and stopped outside a wooden door. Levi rapped the surface twice, the sound of his knocks could be heard echoing through the house. A few seconds later, the door opened to an old and haggard woman. Cierra put on her best smile and was opening her mouth to greet her when the woman said in a scratchy, loud voice, “Ahh, it’s Levi and his girl.”

She beckoned them in, hobbling as she turned away from them and headed towards the living room. Levi closed the door behind them as they entered, leaving Cierra to discreetly check out the interior of the house. It was a pretty small house, with the kitchen and living room squeezed tightly together. There was no separate dining area – the island top served as their table. She couldn’t see much from where she was standing but there were probably about three bedrooms in the house, which meant that at least two of the siblings would have to share a room. 

“Come, come. Sit down, girl.” The lady motioned to her to take a seat on the old couch. 

Levi slumped down on the two-seater couch and patted his side. Cierra followed suit and sat beside him, but her posture was straight and she sat closer to the edge. She extended her hand to the lady in greeting and said, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ackerman. I’m Cierra.”

Mrs. Ackerman – Levi’s mother – cracked a smile, and shook her hand limply. “Yeah, nice to meet you.” Quickly releasing her grip, she turned towards the bedrooms and yelled, “Hey, Levi and Cierra are here. Come out already!”

Cierra flashed a weak smile, slightly taken aback by the less-than-warm reception, and glanced at Levi who patted her head reassuringly. Her attention was quickly brought back to a bald man who shuffled out of the nearest bedroom, wearing a baggy three-quarter pants and an old, stained T-shirt. He was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and when his blurred vision took in the sight of Levi and Cierra, he broke into a grin that – to Cierra, at least – looked more scary than inviting. 

“If it isn’t Levi and his girlfriend. Well, I’ll be damned. I thought you weren’t coming,” he slurred.

Cierra quickly stood up and extended her hand once again in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Ackerman.”

He took her hand and gave it a firm shake, although this time she had to break his hold, uncomfortable with his leery gaze. Stepping back, she reclaimed her seat besides Levi and Mr. Ackerman sat next to his wife.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t serve anything fancy. We don’t really drink anything else besides water,” Mrs. Ackerman said while pouring four cups of water from the teapot that was already on the table when they had arrived.

“That’s ok. I prefer water actually,” Cierra replied, murmuring a small ‘Thanks’ as she took the cup of water and lifted it to her lips.

“So… Cierra, how are things with you and this pip-squeak? Is he giving you any trouble?” Mr. Ackerman snickered.

Cierra looked at Levi out of the corner of her eye and was slightly surprised by his lack of reaction to the word ‘pip-squeak’. If it were anyone else, he would have stared daggers at them until they retracted their words. If it were among friends, he would give them a friendly smack on the head or on other occasions, a rare smile would adorn his features. It seemed like he couldn’t care less about what his father had just said. Smiling at Mr. Ackerman, she shook her head. “No, not at all. I- We enjoy each other’s company and we get along really well.”

“Really?” Mrs. Ackerman gave a hacking cough. “So your parents okay with your relationship with him?”

Cierra nodded. “Yeah, they really like him a lot. Both my parents and my three older brothers.”

Mr. Ackerman harrumphed loudly. “Well, Levi, I can’t believe you managed to snag a girl. How do you put up with him, Cierra?”

His words echoed familiarly in Cierra’s mind. She had heard a similar question somewhere but… in a different tone, with different choices of words, and in a much different setting than this. Ahh. She recalled it now. Her father had asked the same question of Levi with a large jovial grin on his face, thumping Levi’s back as if they were close friends. She had blushed a crimson red and gave a light smack on her father’s head, the entire family – including Levi – breaking into laughter. It had been a joke, her father lightly making fun of her and at the same time, praising Levi. But this time, the same question sounded more like Mr. Ackerman was criticizing his own son, so cold and sarcastic was his tone that she doubted he meant it in the same way her father did.

Frowning slightly, she tried to answer politely. “Levi’s a great guy. I don’t really need to put up with him, per se.”

“If you think Levi’s great, maybe you should see his two brothers. I’m sure you’ll like them too. Successful, good-looking, great personality,” Mrs. Ackerman rattled on.

Cierra could only stare at her in shock. What was happening here? Was Levi’s mother actually suggesting that she should go for his brothers instead? She turned to look at Levi who was sipping his water and looking extremely disinterested in the whole talk. How could he put up with this?

As she heard Mrs. Ackerman prattle on, she felt her anger boil up to dangerously high levels. All that Levi had said, or not said, about his family and what Hanji had said earlier all made sense now. He had grown up without love, eclipsed by his two brothers, who now didn’t even bother supporting their doting parents. Why Levi had not wanted more than one child – that was clear to her. He was scared. Scared of falling into the same trap as his parents, loving one and neglecting the other. But she knew he would be much better than them. She could see the doting father in him, the father that would love all children equally. Now that she understood his troubles, she could help him see the light, make him understand that he wasn’t like them. He wasn’t anything like them.

Growing incredibly annoyed with the talk around her, she raised her voice slightly to be heard. “Well, yes. I’m sure your two other sons are great, Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman. I’m guessing they’re just too busy, so they can’t contribute to your living allowance every month like Levi has.”

The silence that permeated the room was palpable. Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman were staring at her in shock, as if she had just delivered a bombshell. Realizing what had just escaped her lips, she hastily opened her mouth to apologize but was interrupted by Levi. 

“We need to get going soon. Thanks, Mum, Dad, for letting us visit. I’ll be sending your allowance soon,” he said, getting up and pulling Cierra from her seat as well.

Levi dragged a startled Cierra towards the front door and before stepping out, he turned towards his parents who were still seated on the couch, dumbstruck by the turn of events.

“Oh… and I’m getting married to Cierra. Just so you know.”

He left them with that last sentence and the two of them got into Levi’s car. An awkward silence ensued but was soon disrupted by a chortling sound. Cierra snapped her head to look at Levi who was trying to stifle his laughs as best as he could. Her eyes widened in surprise at the rare sight of him laughing.

“Th-that was awesome. Your retort to my mum… stunning,” he choked out amidst his laughter.

Frowning, Cierra replied, “That wasn’t meant to be a joke. I meant every single word I said.”

Levi regained his composure. “Yeah, I know.” Turning towards her, he said in a serious tone, “Neither was I.”

She gaped at him, her heart racing as the meaning behind his words became clear. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Although they knew they would eventually tie the knot, it had never explicitly been mentioned. Levi’s sudden proposal wasn’t exactly a shock but the sincerity in his voice made tears well up in her eyes.

Levi continued, “I… can’t imagine having more than one child like you wanted bu-“

“Levi, it’s ok,” she stopped him. “I know you will be a good father. But if you need time… we’ll go through this slowly. Together.”

He broke into one of his rare smiles and cupped her cheek in his hand, gently running his thumb over her skin. “So I take that as a yes.”

“Of course, you idiot.”

_For you are the apple that fell far from the tree._

**Author's Note:**

> Cierra Knightly by [iFell-intoTheSky](http://ifell-intothesky.deviantart.com/)  
> Story by me.


End file.
